Journey vs Destination – A Perfect Example Why The Journey Is More Important Than The Destination

Personal Growth 6 Min. ReadBy: Devon Brown

W​ith your permission, I’d like to tell you a story. A story that perfectly illustrates why, when it comes to the "journey vs. destination" conversation, the journey is in fact the more important of the two.

I heard or read this story somewhere a while back (at least I think I did).

I may have come across it in a fitness magazine several years ago, but it’s been so long that I’m going to have to make up the name of the main character and fill in some of the details as I see fit.

Think of this story like one of those “based on a true story” movies. The names and characters may not be real... but the lesson sure is.

Heck, even the picture further down in this blog post is just one I found online that illustrated the point of the story perfectly… but hell if I know who the woman in the picture actually is (​LOL).

You may be wondering why I’ve decided to tell you such a story (given that I can‘t even remember where I heard it in the first place).

Honestly, it’s because I love you and I want to get a really important point across to you about “Journey vs. Destination”.

Besides, if me telling you an “Edutaining” (educational + entertaining) story gets you to have a positive shift in the way you understand life... then I’ll take it!

Not to mention the fact that I’m willing to bet you a clean, crisp $100 bill, that not only is the essence of this story true, but it’s probably happened dozens of times.

Truth be told...

The purpose of this story is, in part, to get you to understand the importance of NOT achieving your goals.

“But, Devon” you say...”I thought that I was supposed to have goals and strive to achieve them.”

Yes, you are. But you also need to understand something about the journey you take when you strive to reach your goals.

Just like Mary.

She had a goal (she also had a little lamb... HA! – just playing)

But in all seriousness...

Mary hated her weight...

So she set a goal (a.k.a. “destination”) to lose 20 pounds.

She started going to the gym, working out hard, lifting weights, eating right, and all that other stuff you’re supposed to do.

Week after week, Mary stuck to her plan.

But week after week, she found that the weight just would not come off.

But she didn’t give up (because she was committed to her goal).

Every time she stepped on the scale and didn’t like what it said, that just strengthened her resolve to work harder.

But after six full weeks of doing EVERYTHING she was supposed to do, the EXACT way she was supposed to do it, Mary hadn’t lost a single pound.

She was just as far away from her goal (destination) as the day she began.

Now, Let's Stop Here For A Moment...

​Mary’s goal was to lose 20 pounds, right?

She took the actions she was supposed to take, right?

But she wasn’t moving any closer to her goal.

Now, be honest. Would you, at this point, have given up on your weight loss goal?

Well, if you would have given up, then you would’ve missed the gift that would’ve been discovered had you continued the JOURNEY.

​Why You Must Embrace The Journey...

You see, what Mary discovered after six weeks of working out, is that her body is able to build muscle really easily.

So, while she was in fact losing fat, she was also, simultaneously, gaining muscle (but her weight remained the same because muscle is more dense than fat).

In essence, the scale was lying to her.

The scale kept reading 138 lbs. (63 kg)…

But her body composition was completely different. Heck, on some days she even weighed MORE than her original weight.

Her body was in fact transforming, and it was becoming clearer not just when she looked at herself in the mirror, but in the compliments and attention she was getting.

Noticing the changes to her body, Mary decided to stop looking at the scale, and embrace how easily she put on muscle.

A few months later she entered one of those fitness/figure competitions and took home 1st place!

Today, she regularly competes in fitness competitions and is in love with her body (as she should be).

She weighs MORE than her original body weight, and to this day she never reached her goal (destination) of losing 20 lbs.

&amp;amp;lt;img class="tve_image wp-image-961 jetpack-lazy-image--handled" alt="The Journey is More Important Than The Destination - Body Transformation " width="654" height="510" title="The Journey is More Important Than The Destination - Body Transformation " data-id="961" src="//devonbrown.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/Body-Transformation-Girl-with-Abs-muscle-66-kg.jpg" data-lazy-loaded="1" scale="0"&amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;img class="tve_image wp-image-961" alt="The Journey is More Important Than The Destination - Body Transformation " width="654" height="510" title="The Journey is More Important Than The Destination - Body Transformation " data-id="961" src="//devonbrown.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/Body-Transformation-Girl-with-Abs-muscle-66-kg.jpg"&amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;

The Point Of This Journey vs Destination Story?

The point of this story is to get you to understand the REAL reason the journey is more important than the destination, and the point of setting goals.

The point of setting goals is NOT (necessarily) to reach the goal. This is what most other websites and “gurus” miss.

(Besides, reaching the goal itself is often anti-climactic.)

PAY ATTENTION: Because what I'm about to share with you is the "SEXY" of this article. (Note: The “SEXY” is the main point/essence/big life-changing idea that you can take an apply to other areas of your life​)

The Real Point Of Goal Setting Is Two-Fold

FIRST - The point of goal setting is to go through the process of growing as a person. That growth can ONLY be achieved by working towards a goal.

SECOND - The point of goal setting is to uncover new realities, truths, and new goals along the way. In other words, the purpose of goal setting (and taking action towards said goals) is to expose the gifts found along the JOURNEY.

Let Me Put It Another Way:

It’s like starting at point “A”...

Heading towards point “B” (your initial goal)...

And along the journey, you discover point “C”, an even awesomer destination than point B, but one that you couldn’t see when you were at point “A”.

Re-read the above statement, 2 or 3 more times… It’s the KEY to everything!! That is the SEXY!

Mary’s “goal” (her destination) was never to be a fitness competitor. It was to lose weight.

So, she started working hard towards that goal.

Along the way, she discovered a new path (one that she would’ve NEVER seen had she not embarked upon the journey toward her original goal).

Think about it…

Did Mary ever reach her original goal?

Nope.

She failed miserably at it.

But in doing so she found a greater gift.

Funnily enough, that gift was found in her weighing MORE than she thought she wanted to weigh.

(Let that sink in for a moment!)

My Personal Journey vs Destination Example...

I remember back in 2014 when I set a goal for myself of opening an office and managing a sales team that generated $300,000+ a month in sales.

I launched my company, did $100,000 in sales the first month, hired a business coach and a dozen new employees, and started marching towards my goal of $300,000 a month.

9 Months later was broke.

I worked hard toward my goal but “failed” miserably at it.

But in my failure I discovered something.

I discovered that I had ZERO desire to run a sales team, work out of a “real” office, or do any of the other mess I was doing.

I also discovered that making six figures a month isn’t all it’s cracked up to be - if you have to exchange it for your happiness and sanity.

That failure caused me to change my entire business model.

Along the JOURNEY, I discovered what I really wanted my life and business to look like.

So, I downsized.

I sub-leased my office to another company.

I went from 12 employees to 5.

And I set it up so that everyone could work from home.

The end result…

I was 10X happier!.

But I had to strive towards my initial goal (i.e. move from point “A” in the direction of point “B”) before I could discover what I was truly looking for (point “C”).

Does that makes sense?

I hope it does.

And I hope that now when you hear people talking about "the journey vs. the destination", you understand exactly why people say the journey is the more important of the two.

I’m curious to know if you’ve had any similar experiences.

Let me know in the comment section below.

And if you enjoyed this piece, please share it using the social media share buttons on this page!

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Devon Brown (“Duh-Von” not “Dev-in”) is an internet entrepreneur, speaker, author, MC, and former hip-hop dancer whose content has helped countless people achieve more success in their lives. Once described as a sort-of ‘MC Hammer meets Tony Robbins’; his style is 50% education, 50% entertainment, and 100% must-experience. Be sure to connect with Devon on YouTube at DevonBrown.TV

The mission of DevonBrown.com is to help success-minded people, like you, get more out of life. We focus on edutaining (educational + entertaining) solutions for unlocking success, uncovering the endless possibilities within yourself, and creating your life on your terms.